Tuesday, October 8, 2013

As we walked out of
Beachcomba Hotel the other day, the receptionists warned us, “be careful of muggers as
you walk toward White Sands Hotel at this hour”. We looked at our watches. It was
only 8pm and the distance between the two hotels was hardly a five-minute walk.
One must wonder what is happening at Mbezi Beach/Africana – the safe side of Dar es
Salaam?

We started talking to
the night guards as we walked outside the gate, partly because we took the receptionists’
warning seriously and, second, there were no lights on the road we intended to
walk on. Jokingly, we told
the guards: “Jamani kaeni mkao wa hatari, mkisikia kereuwi mtufuate”, a statement
which broke laughter between the guards and protection was established.

Further along the street, Dr. Nandera lamented: “Why can’t these big hotels invest in security lights along the road?” “That will be an
extra investment, as the hotels have enough security in their hotels and haves their
own light”, I responded sarcastically. Suddenly, a bright light beamed from our
back and made us turn around to observe for a while a VX parking close to us.
“Do you want a ride?” the driver asked. I was quick to say: “No thank you. We
are almost there”. He insisted, “its safe in the car at this hour more than
walking outside”. At that point I recognized the man’s face, and Dr. Nandera
said to me, “it is the man from the conference”. So we popped into the car, and
he dropped us within a one-minute walk to White Sands Hotel.

When we arrived at
the gate the security guards received us with a deafening silence. This made us
wonder why as the restaurant staff at Beachcomba had informed us that the music
we were hearing before our departure was at White Sands. So, we said, instead
of drinking wine and coffee in a quiet place we should compliment it with
music. We then approached them, asking about the music. One of the guards
standing close to the entrance explained to us, “yes there is music playing but
it is not an open band, rather there is a special party”. Partly disappointed
we told the guard, “We can still drink wine and coffee”. As we tried to make
our way in, the guard inside the security checkpoint room said, “the hotel is
full for tonight, we are no longer accepting guests”. I quickly asked, “who has
managed to make an exclusive booking at this big hotel?” Rudely, the guard
said, “all that you need to know now is that the hotel is full”. At this point,
I was confused and had no capacity to decode what he was trying to communicate.

Sensing my confusion,
Dr. Nandera, who was now standing five feet away from me said, “Jackie, let’s
go home – can’t you read their language, they think we are ‘prostitutes’!” Still
confused, I responded, “You must be joking!” The guard, now responding to Dr.
Nandera, said, “why can’t you understand that the hotel is full? So, be
civilized, go away”. As I tried to make sense of his sentence, Dr. Nandera
argued, “Jackie, I am too tired to fight this kind of nonsense at this hour, let’s
go back to our hotel and have drinks there”. I really wanted my coffee, and I
was starting to get irritated by the guard’s responses, with Dr. Nandera’s pinching
analysis hanging at the back of my mind. I was really hoping her analysis was
misplaced.

To find that out, I
turned to the guard and asked him what procedures I had to follow to get in. He
was silent. To make things easier for him I said, “you give cards to those
coming with cars, what about those on foot like us, do we need to sign
somewhere?”

At this point Dr. Nandera
insisted that she was not ready for this fight, a fight that was so clear for
her, yet so unclear to me. I look at the guard, who was charging and ready to
defend his territory. I could care less so I walked through the gate and he
watched me as I made my way into the hotel. As I approached the front door, the
usher standing in at that hour, a young man, humbly said, “You are welcome
Madam! Can I help you?” I asked about the opening hours of the restaurant and
if the hotel was receiving guests at that hour. He said the kitchen was open
until 10 pm and rooms were available at the hotel, and started walking me to receptionists.
However, I informed him, I wished to go to the restaurant. Realizing it is a
bit far away from his standing post, he gave me directions that would help me
find it.

The restaurant hardly
had 15 customers. Some were having meals while others were hanging at the bar.
I asked for the menu and looked through it while standing. At that point, Dr. Nandera’s
narration made sense and made me too angry to order food. So, I decided to
return to the front desk and ask for an explanation. As I turned around, I met Dr.
Nandera who asked if the bar had the coffee and cake that I was craving for. I
said, yes, but I have no appetite. She tried to calm me down as she had already
talked to the front desk personnel who explained to her that there was an order
of blocking ‘prostitutes’ to enter the hotel and if guards failed to do so the hotel
manager cuts their salaries or bonuses. I argued that was not a good enough
explanation. Dr. Nandera who seemed calm at this point said, “Jackie, just let
it go, the young man has apologized enough” and pointed to the apprehension at
the front desk concerning the possibility of us informing the manager about the
incidents. One employee even remarked to a fellow employee: “I have been
telling you to tell the manager this act of stopping some women not to enter
the hotel is not good!”

I could partly understand
the institution’s directives and its attempt of making White Sands a free zone from
‘prostitution’. However, I become curious about the profiling of women ‘prostitutes’
and the identification process. I wished to know if the hotel provides a
written document and statement of who is a ‘prostitute’. From my personal experiences,
I know any woman who wears tight and revealing clothes can easily be identified
as a ‘prostitute’, but luckily none of us was in that dress code that night.
Some colleagues recently argued that high-class ‘prostitutes’ dress in expensive
formal codes, fortunately we were not wearing such clothes; we were in causal
dresses, covering our knees. To me there should have been other explanations
more than our dresses and looks, as we had no extensive makeups or jewels. I
wanted to know if there was an additional variable to the ‘prostitute profile’
- so we went back to the gate to find out.

As we arrived at the
gate we found a new guard and asked him about the other guards we met when we
entered the gate. His response carried a voice of curiosity, “they have just
finished their shift, is there any problem?” My response was, “there is a
confusion and I am carrying a special message for him”. He insisted to know
what was the problem, so we narrated the story to him and he quickly responded:“Madam that is not his problem, it is the
administration that has a problem with that, they don’t want those kinds of
women here”. So, I asked him, are we
those kinds of women? He responded with a subtle metaphor: “When someone give
you a house and tell you only chicken goes in, who am I to say ducks will also
go in?” Then he added an emphasis with a soft tone: “hivi ni vibarua tu dada
angu”. I was almost convinced but suddenly I asked, “how do you identify who is
a ‘’prostitute and who is not? Does your employer provide you with a screening
tool”? His response was simple and clear; “any woman who come in alone at this
hour can’t get in”. I asked why, his response was; “why will she be here, in
this hotel if it is not for ‘prostitution’?”

This afternoon, I
found it difficult to let it go, so I made a phone call to White Sands, seeking
an explanation from the hotel administration. The receptionists informed me that
the managers were in an executive meeting, I should try to call later. I
decided to leave a message for the manager to call me back after the meeting.
Within an hour the assistant manager, who seemed disappointed to hear what
transpired, promised to act on it accordingly. That was a good step, but I
needed more than an apology. My need was to understand the executive order of
blocking ‘prostitutes’ to enter the hotel. Concluding my comment over the
phone, I said, “I have been to White Sand more than 20 times, but I always enter
with a car. This time I was on foot, and I was exposed to a different
experience of women suppression – simply because I did not drive.” She promised
the manager would be calling me back in a few hours!

As I wait for the
manager’s call; I could not help asking myself: Does this mean only those with
cars have the right to drink coffee or wine in a 4 or 5 star hotel? Of course
by the virtue of its high cost, such hotels are exclusive to the middle/upper
classes. But what about a working class woman who wants to enjoy, even if it is
for a little moment, her hard-earned money? And even if she is indeed a ‘prostitute’
does the profession preclude her from the right to decide to take a break one
day and just go for a drink at White Sands and reflect on the plights of
patriarchy that pushed her into that profession in the first place?*

As I sit here and
write, I wonder about the different forms of gender oppression that most of the
privileged among us may never come across because of our class positions. My
question, then, is: How do we go beyond our class position to fight the unknown
and inexperienced oppression of others? Such expression was well put by Dr.
Nandera, when I asked her why she did not want to fight that battle the other
day. She said: “First in this battle you need to claim, ‘I am not them’.
Second, this is not about them, it’s about women!’” With sadness, she said: “Look
at us, lecturers from the University of Dar es Salaam, are simply named ‘prostitutes’
because we are women who came here by foot.What chances do poor women and sex workers have in fighting this?”

My other friend
simply exclaimed: “The story has to go public to empower others not to just let
it go when and if it happens!”

*I subscribe to the use of the terms “sex worker”
and ‘sex work’ rather than ‘prostitute’ and ‘prostitution’, respectively, acknowledging
that many see it as job that provides them with income.

2
comments:

Thank you Jackie for telling this story in the most compassionate way I can imagine. Since these types of experiences occur each day all over the world. It's comforting to know that men and their institutions have not changed. I'm being sarcastic here. It is indeed an issue of class and sexism that intersect at the moment you arrive in the dark,-- African Women, without a man, child or car. For centuries, women have been discriminated against, their civil rights taken from them with impunity. No one at the hotel will be punished, or educated for discriminating against you for being African women without men and without a car.

I am truly saddened that you and your scholarly friends went through this incident-- and for all the women who go through it everyday. When you are not used to having your rights denied it is shocking - so thank you for using your privilege to standing up and speaking out against women's oppression. I think we should start an international boycott of the White Sands Hotel!!!Women everywhere UNITE.

Interesting. Before everything, I hope the poor guards didn't get fired over this. Because if they did, then the other sad side of this story will be, the lady who complained still has her professional job, but the poor blue collar guy lost his for simply following instructions that were given to him.

Having said that, I commend the two women for standing up for what is right, their rights. In the spirit of women rights, I am not sure if I agree 100% with the claim that "this is not about them, its about women". Prostitutes and a place of business (unless its a brothel) don’t go very well together. Nobody wants to go to a place where there are prostitutes, because they bring other baggages.

I don’t believe anybody will like to go to a place full of prostitutes. Furthermore, I doubt if these women will take their husbands to a place where there are a lot of prostitutes, or even take their children. In short, I believe White Sands is trying to keep its image, and not risk of losing customers and people who are looking for a place to go for a family outing.

Secondly, prostitution is a business still dominated by women; therefore, women are a easy target. A woman dressed a certain way, or who walks by foot alone in those hours, will be profiled, its unfortunate but true. A guy who does the same, will walk right in (unless is not dressed according, will then be profiled as a kibaka), because who will think, may be this guy is here a lone to prey on white single ladies. Guys who do that are usually the beach boys.

So until when the beach boys decide to take their business indoors, women will continue to be profiled. And for the guards, they may have been a bit too aggressive, but who wont be when thats the job that feeds your family. In the end, I hope the women effort to get answers from the management will put the necessary pressure on the hotel to think carefully about this profiling, this gender profiling.

Mahali(Location)

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